Starting University

A week ago I officially started university. As a freshman I of course had expectations, and preconceptions based on what other had people told me. In this post I would like to write about how the experience has been so far, and about things you should prepare yourself for if you are starting college or university soon.

Studying and Assignments:

If you were that bastard that got through high school better than fine without opening a book (like me), you will probably expect college to be the same kind of joke high school was to you, but I would like to tell you outright that you will have to devote some time out of school to school (annoying, I know) so don’t go on packing your afterschool schedule, we all like to be productive, but we don’t want to over do it, leave some space for your friends and for your studies.

Textbook$:

I always heard books were expensive but the day I went to the university bookstore only to find out the textbook total for my five classes would be an approximate of $800 I totally freaked out. On top of the already ridiculous prices of tuition, I was not planning on spending that much money on books I would only use one semester. So I did end up buying some books but I instead of spending $800, I spent $215 and a few hours online finding the PDF versions of textbooks. Some teachers do require you to buy the physical textbook, and in some instances you won’t find cheap resellers (hence the $215), but I do recommend looking for people who are selling their old books before getting them full priced at the bookstore (if you do this check if it is the edition on your syllabus, and if its not, ask your teacher whether he or she accepts it anyways).

Professors:

I’m just gonna say one thing. Check ratemyprofessors.com to make sure what you are signing up for. I didn’t know about this, and let’s just say it would have been a good idea.

Making Friends:

If you grew up in a private school or in my case in a Jewish day school, you will notice university will be very different. Here you will see a more diverse group of people, most of whom you have never met before. I am in a very small university, so after a few days you probably have seen the same people a lot but you never really meet even a small portion of the people. I started university with one of my best friends, but the day we arrived for orientation we thought we were going to meet all these people and be super social, which you can probably guess did not happen. Even if you seem approachable and no one thinks you are intimidating, people are usually a little shy at the beginning, so if you are hoping to meet people my recommendation is to make the first move, it might seem weird but sometimes in life you just have to introduce yourself, you never know where it might lead.

Supplies:

In case you are wondering, yes you do get to buy cute supplies like you did in high school. I love school supplies so I was very excited. These are some of my favorite websites for cute supplies (you can always get things at Target too, if you got one around)

http://pilotpen.us/ – G2 07 pens are my all time favorite. And their Pilot Super Grip mechanical pencils are superb as well.

Outfit Choices:

I grew up going to school in the same uniform for basically my whole school life, so having to find an outfit everyday can seem like it’s gonna be a lot of work but I honestly have been having so much fun getting dressed every morning. My tips for dressing are: balance comfort and fashion, you are allowed to dress down and comfortably and you are allowed to dress up (it’s hopefully a free country) but I definitely recommend something that isn’t uncomfortable, itchy, or so tight you can’t breathe. Also the A.C. will probably be on if it’s hot outside so don’t forget to carry a little sweater (if you live in a cold place it’s the opposite I guess). Express yourself, it will be fun.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and that it gave you an overall glimpse at what it is to be a university freshman. I would love to hear about your first week experience in the comment section below.

2 thoughts on “Starting University”

Great post. Loved it! Just one thing to add: Research about your classes before enrolling, maybe you were fascinated by the title of the class but it may not meet your expectations once you are there. And join extracurricular clubs. They are a great way to meet new people and make new friends.

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This blog is an invitation to join me in my journey to a more sustainable, healthy and happy lifestyle. I intend to use this platform as a form of self expression, whether it is for fashion, book reviews, health advice, advocacy for causes I feel strongly about or just simple thoughts.